All you need is love

Because Our Love Is Needed is a nonprofit group started by Toledo Area resident Brenda Siebenaler to help children  and their families who are suffering from illness, poverty, and other significant life challenges.
After tragedy struck her own family when her son Colin, 5, was hit and killed in a car accident, Siebenaler was warmed and moved by the kindness that her friends, neighbors, and community showed during that difficult time in her life.  “I survived that due to the overwhelming support that I received from my friends, neighbors, and strangers within the community.” 
Death, injury, and lasting conditions, says Siebenaler can have a ruinous effect on a family—straining relationships with unforeseen emotional, physical, and financial burdens.
Because Our Love Is Needed is a tax exempt charity that assists families facing impossibly difficult situations surrounding a child’s death, illness or injury. The organization alleviates some of the financial burdens and allows the family to focus on what is most important: the child.  
And for those who have been through the loss or suffering of a child, Because Our Love Is Needed offers another opportunity for healing: the opportunity to give what you can to help others in similar situations.  The organization accepts In Honor, and In Memory donations of any amount, and there are other ways to help, too.  Those who wish to be more involved with the nonprofit charity can volunteer to help at community events and fundraisers, share the organization’s message and information with their friends and family, or contact Because Our Love Is Needed directly with ideas or interest in sponsoring a fundraiser.
Saturday, August 14, the organization is  hosting a fundraiser 5K Walk and 1 Mile Kids Fun Run at Woodland Park in Perrysburg.  Registration begins at 7:45 a.m., the kid’s run starts at 8:30 a.m., and the 5k Walk commences at 9 a.m. 
Running the organization has helped Siebenaler honor her son and bring communities together for a greater good.  “My husband and I have learned how important it is to reach out to others in times of need, especially when a child is involved,” she says.  “Not only did we want to do something great in honor of our dear Colin but selfishly we wanted others to remember him and to hear his name said out loud.”

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